David Whitehead is an associate pastor for MorningStar New York located in Manahattan. He is also a coach for church planters in the RCPC network, and has been involved with church planting for 20 years. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Manhattan.

“I've got some questions about that Christianity stuff, man". Tom, an art designer, was sitting next to me in my living room, having been brought by a mutual friend to our Thursday evening “Apprentice Night". What began innocently enough as an excuse for church members to get together around a home-cooked meal and watch the New York City-based reality show had quickly evolved into a weekly ritual where people were bringing non-Christian friends to hang out. Thus Tom and his probing question about Christianity.

Cautious at first, Tom joined in as we discussed the crazy quirks of the reality show, its contestants and its local celebrity Donald Trump. When the show ended, we read Proverbs and discussed ancient wisdom as compared to the advice and savvy of Donald Trump. During the course of the evening, I could tell that our conversation had somehow struck a chord in his heart. When I saw Tom the next week, his attitude toward Scripture and God had changed; members of our church had met with Tom during the week to share their stories of God's work in their lives. As Tom heard their stories he desired to be changed by God as well, and now Tom is part of this community of faith.

Tom's story is not unusual for our church plant. In the course of three years in New York City, we have been privileged to witness many people come to Christ and get established in their faith. These are people from a wide spectrum of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, many of whom are young and new to the city.

Every month our church members meet for a separate baptism service to cheer as new converts come up out of the water. Church members are forming weekly outreach groups because they have found that smaller gatherings appeal to their co-workers more than a church service. Friday night prayer meetings draw large crowds of singles who are hungry to pray for revival in New York City and the world.

All of this activity didn't happen accidentally, and it's not as if God is showing partiality. Simply put, evangelism is the thread that ties into everything we do. It is in the spiritual DNA of the staff and has been transmitted to the congregation.

First is a passion for Christ. As much as I love good theology, most non-religious people that I have met are not that interested in the truth of the gospel until they see the life of the gospel. According to John 10:10,“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." As Christians we live a life of hope that God is actively destroying the chains of sin in our lives and our communities. This hope should infuse passion into our lives and create a winsomeness for our witness. I have met many New Yorkers who feel that any level of true devotion to God is a sign of ignorance at best and instability at worst. When they see people who are able to laugh, cry, express great joy and deep sympathy, they begin to question some of their preconceived Christian stereotypes. I love when people tell me, “I would never have guessed you were a pastor!" (By that they mean, “You actually seem normal!")

The second component of our church plant's evangelism is the reality of Christ. God's people must believe that Christ desires to break into our world to change us and those around us. The apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians that “we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  We have to believe that God wants to reach our city more than we do, and He has set up all kinds of supernatural opportunities around us each day to share the reality of his love. Our job is to walk through the day with our eyes open to what God has already prepared for us! As Christians understand that God has already “stacked the deck", it allows them to go into the world with the freedom to look for God's work in that community instead of trying to make something happen. As God is touching individuals, we can't expect them to understand what is going on. Part of our calling is to tell them what is happening according to Scripture, and how it demonstrates the reality of a loving Creator jealous to get their attention.

The third component of our church's evangelism is an understanding that outreach is an essential ingredient toward maturity in Christ. When someone comes to Christ for the first time, there is a zeal to tell their friends about what Christ has done for him. New believers who actively share their faith seem to mature much faster than those who don't. Conversely, 'mature' Christians need to be careful not to isolate themselves from non-Christians as religious activities increase in their lives. This is not a diatribe against religious activities, but rather an appeal to expand our view of Christian spirituality and see God waiting for us beyond our self-imposed walls. The church planter needs to help Christians understand that sharing their faith holds a key toward their growth. Many Christians who are looking for “food" in the next sermon or conference can go away hungry because God is waiting to feed them at their workplace or neighborhood. As pastors we can do our people a great disservice by not equipping and encouraging them to open their eyes to the fields ripe for harvest. The great adventure for our current church members is not in learning something new, but to live what they already know in the presence of each other and unbelievers.

The process of looking for the works that God has prepared for us makes many of the Christian disciplines come alive. We might find that we need to study more of the Scripture because we really don't know why we believe the way that we do. We may run into major obstacles that drive us to our knees in prayer to petition heaven for a breakthrough. We may realize that we need to learn a lot more about people who are coming from different cultures and perspectives. In all of this we leave the results to God and commit ourselves to the process. Prayers for the Holy Spirit to shape us in order to walk in His ways coincide with the prayers for the salvation of a co-worker. In this way, evangelism promotes healthy spiritual growth.

Hopefully, these observations will help church planters infuse evangelistic lifeblood into their infant congregations. In a natural family nothing brings life into a home like a new baby. This is true of the spiritual family as well. As a person comes to know Christ, they see outreach to their friends and co-workers as the normal Christian life. For the one who has been a Christian for a while, the new believer is a reminder that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10) There is nothing like the questions of a new believer to keep all of us on our theological toes! New believers tend to still have many worldly habits and perspectives, so they can revive our prayer life as well.

Evangelism begins with relationships, not meetings. If we really want to get to know people in our communities, we will find an amazing number of opportunities. Last Easter we invited people from our apartment building to have lunch with us. Six people responded! When I asked the question at the table “Tell me of your most memorable Easter", our 86-year-old neighbor Shirley immediately said, “This one. I am Jewish and this is the first Easter dinner that I've ever been invited to." Since that time we have had wonderful dialogues with Shirley about faith.

You will find many people like Tom and Shirley in New York City (and in your own city). Some are young and disillusioned like Tom, climbing the ladder of success but incredibly unfulfilled. There are also many people like Shirley, who will respond to even the smallest act of kindness. The Holy Spirit is always on the move, invading the world of the skeptic and the believer with the intent of bringing these worlds into a collision course with each other. As leaders we are called to equip and inspire our congregants to share the gospel and their lives within the community. Let's not allow a chasm to form between our church activities and the city. Let's be contagious with the DNA of evangelism and watch our church members have the adventures of their lives!